Hunger Games: In the Shadow of Death
by Lord-Skarik
Summary: Nearly 20 years into the future of the book The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, although Katniss and Peeta rebelled, the Hunger Games continued to take place.   In this, the 93rd Hunger Game, Thrazz Altar needs to survive to keep someone he loves alive.
1. Chapter 1

Hunger Games: In theShadow of Death

Chapter 1

District 12 is a bad place to grow up. The last of the 12 Districts in Panem, all surrounding the city of Capitol. They all manufacture things for the Capitol. District 12 is the butt-end of the Districts, situated over what used to be the Appalachian mountains in what used to be North America. District 12 supplies Capitol with coal.

I live in the worst part of District 12, nick-named the Seam. The Seam is very close to the Meadow. A fence topped with barbed wire stretched around the Meadow, surrounding District 12, and cutting the meadow off of the woods. It's supposedly electrified, but only during a few hours of the day. I discovered I could go out into the woods, long ago.

My name is Thrazz Altar. I have black hair, that I've cut into a mohawk. I once read that mohawks are a sign of anarchy. I support that. I hate the Capitol, and I want to show that in anyway possible, without endangering my own life. I'm sitting here, in the woods, staring at a small pond. I see my face reflected. My green eyes. The nasty scar that cuts across my left cheek to my neck. I'm small, only weigh about 95 pounds, even though I'm almost 16. Luckily I get enough to eat, with no one to watch over. My parents are both dead. My older brother is a drug addict who's lucky the Peacekeepers haven't shot him yet. I hate him.

I got up from my comfy seat and started my way back. As I walk I think. I turn back and look again at the body of my last victim. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I'm an assassin. My latest victim will get me a lot of food. He was the Mayor of the Seam, Avery Scot. It's worked out perfectly, the body is hidden in the woods, where nobody will look. Even if they, do, my handiwork is so well done, that it looks like he got caught in a poachers trap. I've always hated him.

It's kind of ironic, seeing as how my biggest crush is on the mayor's daughter, Jennifer Scot. She'll be heartbroken. I turn back around and walk back to the fence. Knowing that it's not electric at the moment, I crawl under the fence and crawl through the Meadow, so there's no witnesses of me leaving the woods. I'm always a bit jumpy after each kill, so the whole way back to the Hob, the black market in the Seam, I was jumping at every sound.

When I got there, I walked past all the vendors and straight to my contact. He's got metallic blue hair, (obviously dyed) and a forgettable face. I gave him some evidence, the tip of the mayor's nose, and he handed over a bag of flour. This is a really good deal, as flour isn't easy to get. This is also the good quality stuff from Capitol.

"I've got another 'project' for you" My contact says.

"Yeah? Who is it, and what'll you pay?" I reply

"He's a man who ticked me off yesterday. He pushed me around, and demanded my money. I want it back. That'll be the proof I need that you killed him."

"Materials? Those are easy to reproduce. How do you know I actually killed the guy, and not just stolen the money?"

"Because I trust you. You've already killed five people that I asked you to take out, and besides, the reaping is tomorrow. I have the authority to rig it so that if you don't kill him, your name will be drawn."

The reaping is the day of the year when two people, a boy and a girl, get their names randomly pulled to compete in the Hunger Games. Every district does it. They have to.

I smiled. The Hunger Games would be an improvement to my current condition, but it would still be a death sentence to someone as thin as me. "Alright. What will I be payed?" I repeated.

My contact nodded. "Another bag of flour."

"Wow, he must have really made you mad." I say. He nodded. Then he handed me a photo of a man with blond hair. I know him. His name is Isaiah Woodrow, and he is always drunk. It'll be easy to find him, I might even be able to collect the bounty today. "I'll do it." I say.

He nods. "Alright, but you can't turn in today. So I wouldn't even bother going after him."

After that I walk home. When I get to the shack I live in, I mix the flour with some water, and a little bit of sugar I swiped from the market on the way back. Then I prepare the dough, and put it into the little oven that my mom left behind. While I wait for the bread to be done cooking, I do some thinking. What if I do get my name drawn? What if I get my name drawn, and Jennifer Scot get's HER name drawn? Jennifer. The one person who gives me the strength to keep going. If we both get our names drawn, then I'll have to kill her. But what if just her name gets drawn? She's not the kind of person to fight. She would die in the bloodbath at Cornucopia.

Five hours later, the bread is done, and I'm eating it and some cooked rabbit I snared in the woods. An assassination AND the Reaping tomorrow. It's going to be a big day. I go to sleep with all this on my mind. I also know my name is in the pool five times.

The Reaping system is unfair. You are eligible for the Reaping the day you turn twelve. That year your name gets entered once. At thirteen, twice. And so on until you reach the age of eighteen, the final year of eligibility, when your name gets entered seven times. I'm fifteen, so my name'll be in five times.

Here's another thing, there's something called tessera. You can add your name more times in exchange for tessera. Each tessera is a meager year's supply of grain and oil for one person. You can do this for each of your family members as well. Although, at the age of twelve both my parents were dead, and my brother off somewhere else, so I've never had to do it.

Strangely, I get a good nights sleep. When I wake up, I get ready for hunting Isaiah Woodrow. The Reaping isn't until two o'clock, so I'll have plenty of time. I leave the house with my dual knives up my sleeves, ready to equip at a moments notice. I check the first bar I come across. He's not there. I spent the rest of the day looking for him. By one o'clock, I still haven't found him. I'm getting frustrated.

At one thirty, I'm really worried. If I don't find him, and my name gets drawn, if I survive, my contact will be mad. The only thing to do is kill my contact. I head to the Hob. I stop outside the exit. My contact leaves the Hob with two other people, on their way to the Reaping. My contact leaves the men and cuts through an alley. Now's my chance. I make sure no one is looking, then follow him. I pull my knives out. I come up behind my contact. He pulls out a cigarette. I make my move right when he lights it. I stab him in the back, and then slit his throat.

Leaving his dead body hidden under a house, I leave my contact. I took his money, though. Then I head to the Reaping. It's almost two when I get there. I register, and then get into the group of fifteen year olds. I give my attention to the stage. Three people go up. There should be four, but unfortunately, the Peacekeepers are still looking for the poor dear Mayor, whom they must have discovered missing last night. The three people who are up on the stage are six years ago Hunger Games male winner, Gram Marshal, and two years ago Hunger Games female winner, Sophie Rite. The third person is District 12's escort, Julie Allens, fresh from Capitol. I already hate her.

After a few minutes, a Peacekeeper goes up in place of the still missing (forever, although they don't know that) Mayor Scot. The Peacekeeper announces why he's not there, that the Mayor is missing, this gets shocked gasps from the audience, and then he starts reading about the history of Panem. It's required.

He tells of how Panem rose out of the ashes of what was once North America, listing the disasters, droughts, storms fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed most of the land, and he also told of the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result: Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to it's citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, and subdued, but the thirteenth was completely destroyed. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games.

The Rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a cast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins.

After that the Peacekeeper reads the list of past District 12 winners. In ninety-three years, we've had six winners. The latest, Sophie Rite, before her, Gram Marshal. Then we reach a point of both pride and sorrow. When a girl and a boy, Katniss Everdeen, and Peeta Mellark, showed the most treachery and deceit by tricking the Gamemakers into letting them both win at the same time. After them, Haymitch Abernathy. I spaced out after that.

I stared at the camera crews ringing the town square. I was nudged by another boy when Sophie Rite stepped up to pull the girls name from the pool. After a pause for suspense, she reached in and pulled out a piece of paper. She walked to the podium, straightened the paper out, and read, "Jennifer Scot." My heart skipped a beat. I heard Jennifer scream, "No!" The camera crews trained there cameras on her as she dramatically fell to her knees.

The Peacekeepers brought her up to the stage and she stood there in shock. Sophie started clapping and the crowd slowly picked it up. I knew that even if my name wasn't drawn, I would volunteer to go, I would keep Jennifer safe, and then when it was just her and me, I would kill myself and let her live.

Sophie heads to the boys pool. She reaches in, and very dramatically, she must have been enjoying her time onscreen, pulls out a piece of paper. She slowly makes her way to the podium. Then she reads the name.

Thrazz Altar. I smile and proudly make my way forward I can almost sense the camera crews disappointment when the mysterious boy wearing a camouflage shirt and dark hood proudly makes his way up, and they don't get any drama.

"Congratulations, and may the odds be EVER in your favor! " She is looking at me, thinking I will be more likely to win than the crying and pathetic fifteen year old girl standing on her other side. It will look close, but in the end, I know I'm going to die, not by anyone else's hand, but by my own.

**Well, I hoped you guys liked it, this is my first book that I have shown to anyone besides my parents, and I hope it isn't too cheesy, or anything like that.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Me and Jennifer were brought to the Justice Building, taken to a separate room, and given one hour, time allotted for saying goodbye to your family members. The room is fairly large. The carpets and furniture were rich and velvety. I sit on the couch, expecting that this will be a long hour. I didn't expect the door to open, and my brother to walk in.

"What are you doing here Bryce?" I ask him suspiciously. He laughed. "I'm here to say goodbye. No offense, but I probably won't ever see you again, except for when they send your dead body back." I hate him for what he said. "Well than get out of here, cause I don't want to say goodbye to someone who doesn't even care about me." I say to him. He gets mad.

"Yeah? And what do you think mom and dad would say about how you're actin' right now?" He nearly screams.

"What do you think they'll say when they find out what you've been doing, huh? Well?"

"Just stop. I haven't done anything in a week."

"Then where have you been?" I stand up. I'm nearly as tall as him, even though he's five years older than me. "Sit down before you hurt yourself. I came to gave you this." He shoved a silver coin into my hands. "It used to be Ma's." He said. This is the first time he's shown me a kindness. I might actually have to start liking him.

"Well, I'm not going to waste up all your time, there's someone else to see you." He opens the door and leaves. Someone else walks in after him. Who could be here to see me? I look up and see the nineteen year old face of Yohanna Scot, Jennifer's older sister. She glares at me until I finally say in exasperation, "What?"

She replies with ice in her eyes. "If my sister dies by your hand, or if she dies and you had the ability to save her, and then you win, I will personally kill you." After that she leaves, without saying another word.

I sit there in thought for the rest of the hour. Then a Peacekeeper brings me to a car, Jennifer sits next to me. I've never ridden in a car. After a short trip we get to the train station. We have to stop outside the doors and let the cameras record us. Then we go into the train, and the doors close behind us. The train leaves instantly.

The journey to Capitol will take less then a day, due to the fact that the train moves at 250 miles per hour. I've never been in a train either. That's because travel between Districts is against the law, except for official business. Usually, for us, that's transporting coal. But, like I said, this isn't a coal train.

The train is incredibly fancy. Me and Jennifer are each given our own private chambers. We have a bedroom, dressing area, and a bathroom with hot and cold water. I'm not used to hot water, we usually don't have it, unless we boil it.

The drawers have clean clothes in them, and I'm told I can wear whatever I want, I'm also told to be ready for dinner in an hour. I go into the bathroom and take a warm shower. I'm in there for about fifteen minutes. I've never heard of a shower, it's very different from the baths I'm used to.

When I get out, I get dressed in black pants, and a gray shirt. I put my mom's coin in my pocket. Then I lay down on the bed. It's much more comfortable than my old straw bed at home. I'm so exhausted, I fall asleep almost instantly. My dreams are of death, blood, and screams.

I wake up to frantic knocking on my door. I stagger out of bed, and open the door, still half asleep. Jennifer shoves through the door and pushes past me. She is still crying. She sits on my messy bed and cries into the pillow.

After a few minutes, she gets up with puffy eyes and a red nose. The pillow is soaked in tears. She says to me (I'm still in shock at her arrival) "We need to get out of here. Escape."

I shut the door quickly before anyone hears. Just saying that could get us put to death. "How are we supposed to do that?" I ask. "We could jump out the window, or something," She replies weakly. "I just can't stand to die in the Hunger Games."

I sit down next to her. "You won't die. I'll protect you. And besides, the train is moving at over two-hundred miles per hour. You would be obliterated as soon as you hit the ground if we jumped."

"You can't protect me! One of us will have to die anyway when it's just you and me, and I highly doubt it's going to be you." Jennifer says like I just suggested we kill the mayor of every District. (1 down, 11 to go…) I don't want to tell her my plans, she'd try to stop me, for sure. Besides, escaping doesn't sound too bad right now.

Her hands are at her sides, palms down on the bed. I set my left hand over her right. She either isn't bothered, or is too upset to care. I say, "I'll try to sabotage the train. What time is it?"

"Ten minutes before supper." She replies.

"Alright. I'll do something, take out the engine, or... pay off the conductor," I pull out the wad of money that I took from the dead body of my old contact. I quickly counted it up. Over 3000 dollars. Easily enough to at least get the conductor to slow the train down. "then I'll be back in time for dinner." I continue.

Jennifer looks at the money. "Where did you get all that?" She asks in bewilderment.

"You don't want to know. Trust me." Is my reply.

I get up and open the door. Peeking out both sides to make sure the way is clear, I motion for her to leave. I shut the door quietly after myself and start walking towards the front of the train. A Peacekeeper guards the door to the engine. I duck down behind a crate before he sees me.

Now what am I going to do? An idea comes to my mind. I pull out a knife. I still had both when I was reaped, they never searched me. For a second, I contemplate killing the guard. No. That is a last resort at the moment. I carve a chunk of wood out of the wall. It's big enough to be able to throw properly, but small enough to avoid notice if it flies through the air.

I take aim at one of the window, (There are four in the small train car) and throw the wood. It hits the window and makes a crack sound. The noise startles the Peacekeeper, and he moves to the window, turning his back to me and the door, and looks out the window, investigating the sound.

I use that chance to sprint to the door. I allow myself a smile of satisfaction before I open the door and move into the engine room. The conductor is sitting in a chair, looking out the window. Holding my knife backwards, I quickly come up behind him and hold it to his neck. He yips in surprise.

"Shut up." I whisper. "Now, I have a deal for you. I will pay you 3000 dollars, as well as let you stay alive, if you gradually slow the train down to 50 miles per hour, over the next hour."

"Who's to say-" The conductor starts to say, before I cut him off.

"Shut up! Yes, or no. Don't say it, just nod your head." The conductor nods yes. I hand him the wad of cash. "Now don't tell anybody, or you'll regret it."

I leave the engine room, feeling pleased, but still feeling like something is going to happen. The room with the guard in it is empty. That's not right. I stop and then after a few seconds slowly move to the next car. I open the door and two Peacekeepers are there.

Both the Peacekeepers and myself were surprised. I just recovered faster. I threw my first knife and it hit the Peacekeeper on my left in the thigh. As he screamed, the one on my right grabbed his pistol and brought it up. I threw my second knife and stuck his right hand, causing him to drop his pistol.

I charged the Peacekeepers, kicked the one on my left in the chin with a high kick, and then using the momentum of my first kick, roundhouse kicked the other Peacekeeper in the stomach. They both toppled over, and I ran.

I sprinted to the next car, opened the door, and was stopped by the three machine guns pointed at my face by three Peacekeepers. My first reaction was to reach for my knives, then I remembered, I left them in the other Peacekeepers. I forgot to retrieve them.

I put my hands on my head. The Peacekeeper in the middle said with a smug voice. "Oh, boy, are you in trouble."

**This concludes chapter 2. Please R&R.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I wake up with a splitting headache. I'm in a an empty gray room, devoid of windows and furniture. Where am I? What am I doing here? I try to think. I remember killing my contact, and the reaping, and, and, Jennifer!

Suddenly it all comes back to me. The train, Jennifer's idea, the attempted escape. I try to stand up, but my hands and feet are handcuffed.

My stomach rumbles. I realize that I'm extremely hungry. Just then, the door opens. A Peacekeeper walks in. "What happened?" I ask him. My throat burns. He ignores my question. After setting a tray of food down, he leaves.

I pick up the tray with my cuffed hands. Bread, water, and jerky. This may be a meager meal to the people in Capitol, perfectly suited to a criminal, but to someone from the Seam, this is one of the best meals I've ever had. I remember when I was eleven, my brothers name had been picked, but it turned out it was a misunderstanding. We feasted, happy that my brother survived, and in memory to the boy named Bryce Altin.

After finishing my meal, I sit there, thinking. I decide that I must have been hit in the head. That would explain my headache. But was I still in the train, or already in Capitol? It didn't feel like the floor was moving. Then again, since I was sitting against the wall, I wouldn't have been able to feel it anyway.

An hour passes. I pull the coin out of my pocket, and study it. It's worthless, of course, just a medallion. The engraving was interesting, at least. It was an engraving of a Blue Jay. My Mother's favorite bird.

Just then, the door opens, and two Peacekeepers walk in. They haul me to my feet, and drag me out the door. We aren't in the train anymore, that's for sure. They drag me down a bland hallway, then turn left. Down another hallway. Right. Left. Right, right, left, right. Then they stop at a door.

The Peacekeepers knock, and after hearing a muffled, "Enter." they open the door and drag me in. They seat me in a chair. There is a table in front of me, and seated on the other side, is a Peacekeeper. "Take the handcuffs off. They aren't necessary." He says to the other Peacekeepers. They take off my cuffs, then leave.

Me and the man stare at each other. If he thinks he can stare me off, he's wrong. We stare at each other for five minutes before he finally breaks contact with my intense green eyes. "Stop!" He snaps at me. "My name is Commander Vincent. Capitol has decided that they are going to let you go. Since nobody was seriously injured, and the fact that the Board of Security found it amusing, you will be allowed to continue with your preparations for the Hunger Games, as if it never happened."

Vincent motioned to a security camera in the corner of the room, and instantly the door opened and a Peacekeeper walked in. "Follow me. Please." The "Please" was obviously an afterthought. He takes the cuffs off my feet and I follow him. We don't go back the way I thought as I expected, but he takes me straight to a door at the end of the hallway.

It leads to an alley with a car waiting. He opens the door and motions for me to get in. He gets in after me and closes the door. The car pulls out of the alley and turns right. We pass the front doors of the building I had been in. A crowd of camera crews and news reporters flocked around the entrance, waiting for me to leave, not expecting me to have left out the backdoor.

The car takes me to the Remake Center, where I'm told I'll meet the stylist who will dress me up for all the events needed to gather sponsors. All the other Tributes went through three hours of readying before they even met their stylist. I found out I had been unconscious for the whole train ride, and two hours of being in Capitol, so I only had one hour of readying.

They scrubbed me down, removing all the dirt and filth. It was weird, and a little embarrassing, because I was completely naked, and my stylist's three assistants were all female. They were dressed weird, with the strange skin and hair coloring, as well as the random tattoos that were popular in the Capitol.

After the hour was up, my stylist finally arrives. Her name is Killian Raymon. She seems very prissy. I contemplate killing her. She is wearing blue pants, a pink designer jacket, and has green her hair done up in a bundle on top of her head. She looks me over with pursed lips. She reaches over and picks up a robe. She gives it to me and I put it on.

"Listen darling, I'm not sure what to do with you." Killian says to me. "Come with me." She takes me to two chairs arranged so that they are facing each other. She sits in one and motions for me to sit in the other. When I sits down, she snaps her fingers and one of her assistants run off. She comes back with a cup of hot brown liquid.

After seeing my bewilderment at the cup, she says, "It's hot chocolate. Haven't you ever had any?" I shake my head no. "Huh. Well darling, drink it up! It's good for you." I didn't want to ask if it was good FOR me, or if it was good TASTING.

"Well. What should I do with you? You need a costume that will POP for the people when you ride your chariot out." She cocks her head to the side. "Hmmm, I'm thinking, FLAMES! Yes!" She has the most obnoxious voice you could imagine.

I wince a little. Ever since the seventy-fourth Hunger Games, when the famous stylist Cinna used flames with Katniss and Peeta, every District 12 stylist did the same thing for every Hunger Games, for nineteen years. It's getting so predictable, that every time it happens, our Tributes get less and less sponsors.

"Don't you think we could do something other than fire?" I ask Killian. She laughs out loud. "Hah! I know what's best for you darling, NOT you. Flames it is!" She sends me to her assistants to get makeup on while she works on my costume.

They dye my mohawk an unnatural orange color. They also tattoo flame designs around my eyes. Then they give my whole face a yellow sheen. I have to admit, it looks cool. The whole thing took an hour. By the time I was done, Killian had gotten my costume put together.

It looked cool, but predictable. It was a skintight orange suit, with flame designs all over it, and orange and yellow streamers hanging from it. I'm glad it wasn't actually going to be lit on fire. On the Eighty-sixth Hunger Games, they did that, and the two District 12 Tributes died in their chariots, burned to death.

I meet Jennifer. She's dressed pretty much just like me. When she sees me she gives me a big hug. "I thought they killed you!" She's about half a head shorter than me. I pat her brown hair.

They take us to the lower levels of the Remake Center. Then they guide us to our chariot. It's coal black, no surprise there. We were already late, so the whole thing had to be rushed. Districts 1-3 were already gone. Gram Marshal, Sophie Rite, and Julie Allens all run up to us as we're lining up.

Gram looks at me and says, "Nice stunt. Now every other Tribute knows what you're willing to do to evade death." He winks at me. Sophie gives Jennifer a few tips that I didn't hear. Julie just gives us a thumbs up and says in the obnoxious Capitol accent, the only real thing it seems she can say, "May the odds be EVER in your favor!" Then she smiles and it's our turn to leave. The four black horses pulling our chariot take us out into the crowd lined street.

The noise was so loud. I almost fell out of the chariot. Jennifer grabbed my hand and we both hung onto the chariot so we DIDN'T fall. I try to block out the crowd and cameras for the twenty minute ride to City Circle. We didn't get admiration for our flame costumes, like Killian thought, instead we got boo's.

When we finally got to City Circle, and the Training Center, it had felt like twenty hours, not twenty minutes. When we stop, me and Jennifer quickly jump out. The crowd cheers, and we hear wolf whistles, when I realize I'm still holding her hand. Quickly letting go, we run into the building. Somehow Julie, Gram, and Sophie got here before us, and they lead us to the elevator.

The elevator is a great big shiny thing, much faster and smoother than the old, smelly, clunky old thing in the Justice Building, back in District 12. Julie presses the button for the twelfth floor, (for District 12) and it skyrockets. As we go up, I notice I can still see the crowd through the diamond floor of the elevator.

We get to the floor, and Julie gives us our tour. It's very much like the train, just the layout is different. After watching ourselves ride down to City Circle, I mentally slap myself. My appearance is so, so, DUMB! I looked retarded! And the fact that I looked like I was about to pee myself didn't help.

After that, I take a shower, this one lasting about an hour, and then I get in bed. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

**Sorry if it seems a little sloppy. I finished it at 10:00 at night, so I'm pretty tired. Also the fact that there was no action kinda put me to sleep. Definitely NOT my favorite chapter to write. R&R.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I wake up when Julie knocks on the door and shouts out, "Dinner time!" I look at the time. I haven't had anything to eat since the bread and water nearly seven hours ago. Even in the Seam I never went that long without eating.

I put on simple clothes. A gray tunic over my tan pants. I walk to the dining room. It is a long room, and the table is filled with food. Gram, Sophie, Killian, Julie, and Enok, Jennifer's stylist, were all there. Jennifer walked in shortly after me, wearing a pretty dress. Killian shouts out, "Ah! You're both finally HERE! Now we can EAT! I'm STARVing."

Jennifer and I sit down. I don't want to stuff myself too bad. Just enough to keep from getting sick, because if I get sick, they'll throw me into the Hunger Games anyway. The food is good though.

As I eat Gram starts talking about our strategy. Sophie talks to Jennifer about theirs. "You need to go in with 'all guns blazing.'" He says to me. "But I'm not built like that. I was thinking more of a hit and run strategy." I reply. We argue like this, back and forth. We finally agree on when the Games start, I'll try to grab a knife, then get out of there.

Tomorrow is the first of three training days. So we also talk about what I am going to do for it. We decide on camouflage first, then survival in the outdoors, then when we have our solitary training day, where judges watch us and rate our performance, I will show them my throwing knife skills.

After dinner, we all go to bed. Even though I'm extremely tired, I can't fall asleep. I keep hoping that even though the chariot ride was a fail, I can still get sponsors due to my knife skills. Maybe if I get a high score… I lay there for another hour. Then I hear noises across the hall, in Jennifer's room. I open my door, and see her leaving through the door to the roof.

I follow her, and see her standing there, staring out over the city. I walk over to her side. "The city is so beautiful." She whispers. "All the lights, they're so pretty." The Seam only got electricity at a few hours in the day, and if an important announcement was playing on the television. "Yeah." I say.

Jennifer hugs me. "I don't want to die." She says miserably. "I had so many plans for my life." No matter what, I can't tell her my plans. I know she won't let me do it. Or maybe, I just can't stand to hear the alternative. That she wouldn't care, and then I would know that she never cared about me.

"We have to stick together." I tell her. She looks at me in disbelief. "For some reason, I'm just having a hard time trusting you." Ouch, that hurt. "I'm not going to kill you!" I say to her. "How do I kno-" I cut her off. "I've always liked you." It wasn't easy to say, that's for sure.

She looks at me, smiles, then leaves. I stare at the city scape for a few more minutes, replaying the whole conversation in my mind. Then I leave. When I lay down, I fall asleep. I have a nightmare about clowns and Jennifer dying.

I wake up in a sweat. Hey, it was a scary nightmare. I go to breakfast. Jennifer is already there, along with Gram and Sophie. When I walk in, Jennifer shouts out, "Thrazz! You're on TV!" I sit down and stare at the television.

A Capitol reporter continues. "In this shocking video, the male District 12 Tribute's daring attempted escape from the Tribute train! Footage was taken with security cameras." The screen shows me tricking the Peacekeeper, then running to the next room. Then it cuts to me threatening the conductor. I leave, then it shows me fighting with the Peacekeepers. "Wow, you do have talent with the throwing knives." Gram says. The screen shows me with the three Peacekeepers. Then it shows just how I got knocked out. The conductor had come up behind me and smacked the back of my head with a rifle. I crumpled down to the ground.

Gram, Sophie and Jennifer all turn to me in awe. "You are amazing." Sophie says. I shake my head. "No, I'm not. I failed." I state simply. "You're to humble." Gram says. "Now finish up your breakfast, we need to get going." I finish my scone that I had been nibbling on while I watched the TV.

When we all finish, we ride the elevator down to the lower levels of the tower. This is where we will be training for the next three days. It's a big circular room, I mean big, with different stations to practice with. Most of the other Tributes are there already. They're mostly showing off. I head right to the camouflage station. Jennifer follows me. Turns out, our plans for training are pretty similar.

Now, the training only lasted about two hours, and we still had the rest of the day. So we head over to the weapons to train with those. Evidently, Jennifer is actually pretty good with a bow. She's also not bad with a short sword, although she does really need to work on her hiding skills.

At the end of the day, I'm exhausted, and hungry. We eat dinner and then go to sleep. The next morning, we eat breakfast, then head back to the training area. This time I notice that the Gamemakers are there, observing us train. Around twenty of them, dressed in purple robes. Their attention is mostly given to the Careers, Tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4, who usually train for the Hunger Games beforehand, then volunteer, even if it is technically illegal to train before.

Today I work on my survival skills. The instructor tells me and Jennifer about what berries are okay to eat, how to make a fire to stay warm, ETC. When were done with that, I notice someone staring at me. It's a girl from District 6, and she seems to be about thirteen years old. I realize that she was watching me and Jennifer yesterday as well. I decide she must be watching us to make see if she would be able to kill us. I make note of her face, so I can make sure she goes down. I head over to the weapons station again. I pick up a hatchet, good for both throwing and using as melee. I practice with that for a while.

After all that, when we go back, we eat dinner, and watch the television, a channel specifically for Hunger Games Tributes. It tells us about tomorrow, and what's going on. We will be doing training on our own, under the careful watch of the Gamemakers, so that they can rate us and give us a training score. The higher the training score, the more sponsors we're likely to get.

On the way to our bedrooms I stop Jennifer. "Hey, I noticed the girl from District 6 has been watching us. I'm not sure why yet, but I think she's trying to see how were doing, then take us out." Jennifer nods.

"I noticed her too."

"What should we do?" I ask.

"Maybe we should falsify how good we are exactly." I shake my head.

"It's too late for that. The last day of training, tomorrow, is solitary."

"Oh, yeah. I guess we can't do anything about it then. Good night." She goes into her bedroom and shuts the door. I head into my room thinking, _nothing, except make sure she dies. _I decide to take a shower tonight, and think about what's going on.

While I shower, I work on my tactics for tomorrow, and more importantly, for the Games. Tomorrow, I think I'll show the Gamemakers my skill with throwing knives, and my new-found skill with a hatchet. I decide that as well as a knife, I'll try to get an axe at the Cornucopia.

I lay down to get a good nights sleep, but I can't. I keep thinking about tomorrow. I have butterflies in my stomach, and what if, like most District 12 Tributes, we get ignored due to the fact that, by the time it's finally District 12's turn, most of the Gamemakers are drunk and completely bored.

All night I slip in and out of sleep. The few times I fall asleep for more than ten minutes, my dreams are weird, strange things mostly filled with geometrical shapes. At seven o'clock, I decide to get up and go to the dining room, even if it is an hour before breakfast.

When I get there, I see an Avox setting the table for breakfast. Avox's are servants. Criminals who have had their tongues cut out, and forced to serve. You aren't supposed to talk to them unless it is a demand for something. I motion toward the table full of food.

"It's all right if I eat, right?" The Avox nods. I grab a plate and fill it with breakfast foods. I watch the television for about half-an-hour. After that time, Jennifer walks in and fills her plate. She sits down next to me. "I hope you do good with the Gamemakers." She finally says.

"You too." I reply.

We eat in silence after that. Then Gram and Sophie walk in, all bright and cheery. It's clear they got a good nights sleep. I can also tell Jennifer had just as much trouble falling asleep as I did. After we all eat, we sit around waiting for the Gamemakers to summon us down for our solitary training.

It was a restless matter, much pacing around on my part, and I couldn't get relaxed if I tried to sit down. After twenty minutes I shout out in frustration, "AUGH! What's taking so long? Why don't they just hurry it up? Come on!"

Gram looks up. He had been napping. "Patience! They'll call us up when they're done watching the other Tributes!"

"Yeah, and by then they'll be drunker than Haymitch Abernathy!" It was an inside District 12 joke, making fun of Haymitch Abernathy, a District 12 winner of the Hunger Games, and the fact that he was pretty much always drunk.

Just then, an Avox walks in from the elevator and hands Gram a note. He looks at me and says. "Okay Thrazz. Time to go."

It was so unexpected, that it took me a few seconds to comprehend what he said. Gram, Sophie, and Jennifer started laughing. I get angry. "What? What's so funny?" I snap.

Through her fits of laughter, Jennifer says, "Y-you, haha! You should have seen your face!" Then she bursts into another fit. I leave in a rage. I get in the elevator and smash the button with my finger. About halfway down, I calm down, then start laughing myself. Then I think, _what's wrong with me? Why am I laughing at my own stupidity? _Then I laugh some more.

When I get there I see the training room and all mirth is evaporated from me. The Gamemakers are feasting on a roasted pig and drinking their spirits. Half of them were already drunk, and the other half were easily buzzed. I walk into the center of the room and with low spirit, start throwing the knives that I picked up. I'm hitting the target in the center, easily, but only about three Gamemakers are actually watching me.

Time to get drastic. I remember hearing about Katniss Everdeen, and how she had gotten the Gamemakers attention by hitting the apple in the mouth of the pig. I decide to do something similar. I pick up five knives, and then taking aim, throw them in rapid succession so that they form a smiley face in the pigs side.

The Gamemakers are shocked, but then start talking and admiring my handiwork. One Gamemaker stands up and starts saying in a slurred voice, "How DARE you even SH'INK of doin' sh'that?" But then the other Gamemakers pull him down. They excuse me back to floor 12.

On the way back, I think about what I did. Hopefully it will get me a good score. When I get back, everybody is surprised that I was done this early.

"What happened?" Gram asks. I tell him what I did. "Wow, that's, well, I hope it gets you a good score." He says to me. Jennifer stands when another Avox walks in, handing Sophie the note this time. "Okay Jennifer, your turn. Do something cool, or whatever." She leaves and then I decide to take a little nap. I'm very tired.

Gram wakes me up for the scoring on TV. I sit on the couch and watch the scoring. Of course the Careers get high scores, in the 8 to 10 scores. Some people did good, along the lines of a 7 or 8, and some people did not so good, like 3, or 4. Now, scores don't exactly determine how good you are, they just give sponsors a good idea of WHO they should sponsor. For example, you would want to sponsor someone who has a score along the lines of 7 to 12.

I notice that the girl from District 6 has an 8. She won't be exactly easy to kill. When we finally get to District 12, they show my face, then show my score. 9. Not bad. Jennifer gets a 6. She's not exactly super excited.

"Oh well, at least it's better than that kid from District 8." He had gotten a 2. She heads to her room with her head hanging. Julie walks in just in time to see Jennifer walk away.

"What happened?" She starts to say. Then she dismisses it. "Oh well. So! I've been everywhere, trying to get you guys some sponsors! I've been telling them all about how good you are! Uh, I mean how good you guys are. Yeah." I look at her. She shakes off her discomfort with a shake of her head. Suddenly back to her cheerful self, she says in an excited voice, "Well! Tomorrow is another big day! You and Jennifer will be doing the interview! So be yourself, and get a good nights sleep!"

Great. Another reason to not be able to sleep. And the day after tomorrow, the Hunger Games will begin! I realize I'm going to be exhausted. When I get to my room, I press a button on a button panel next to my bed. A tray with water and two sleeping pills pops out of the table. I swallow the pills and drink the water. Almost instantly, I fall asleep. I barely made it onto my bed before passing out.

The next morning I get up feeling completely rejuvenated. That was probably one of the most restful nights I've had since I got to Capitol. I dress in a white shirt and light gray jeans. Then I look at myself in the mirror as I'm about to walk out the door. I've changed so much since I got here. My hair, still orange, was a bright and cheery. My white shirt, ugh. It made me sick, but Jennifer's cheery mood was so infectious.

I quickly take the shirt off, and throw on a black shirt. I wish that I could get the dye out of my hair, but it's permanent until I grow back my natural black hair. I realize it'll also be a problem in the Games. Orange hair doesn't blend in well with the background, unless we're in a desert, which I highly doubt.

After throwing myself into a rotten mood, I leave the room. At breakfast, Gram talks to me about how I'm going to show myself at the interview. What my personality will be. Pretty quick, we decide I'll be going with a dark attitude. After that, we mess around, watching TV and eating.

Killian and Enok walk in around three o'clock to get ready for the interview. I just hope that our costume won't be something stupid. Killian doesn't seem to be able to think of original things.

Luckily for me, Killian didn't do much. She and her assistants, whose names were Eko, Somantha, and Valery, only highlighted my features, with a light dusting of gold. Then they gave me a black tuxedo to wear, the undershirt was orange, to go along with my hair. After much consideration, they used a special soap to remove some of the orange in my hair, so my mohawk was now a zebra pattern of orange and black. Jenna is dressed in an orange dress with black flame designs. This time, we actually look good.

An hour before the interview, Gram comes to see me. "Now, when it's your turn to be interviewed, only say minimal. It'll make you seem mysterious. People love that."

We head to the interview. It's on a stage constructed just outside the Training Center. After riding the elevator down, we're led onstage along with the other Tributes. We all walk down single file, and take our seats. I get nervous as I see the crowd. I've never had a head for crowds.

Although evening is falling, the City Circle is brighter than a summer's day. Esteemed guests were given elevated seats. The stylists commanded the front row. Even though I hate her, I look to Killian for guidance. She doesn't even notice me, she's too busy talking to another stylist.

Caesar Flickerman, the man who has hosted the interview for over sixty years, runs onto the stage. He looks exactly the same as ten years ago, when I would watch the interviews on TV. I remember my parents making comments like: "He looks the same as twenty years ago." Same face. Same hairstyle, just dyed differently every year, same suit, midnight blue dotted with a thousand tiny electric bulbs, that twinkle.

He tells a few jokes, then gets to business. Each interview lasts three minutes. As they go down the line, I make a note of who to watch out for tomorrow. When the girl from District 6 goes up, I go on the alert. She goes with a sly attitude. I'm sure she wants to take us down. I have to take her down first.

They go down the line, and finally reach District 12. As always, they go girls first. I know I should have been paying attention, but I was to nervous when Jennifer went up. When they mention her father, I snap to attention. This is the third time I've gotten guilty about what I did. I wish I could go back and mend it, then I wouldn't feel so awkward around Jennifer. She gets sad when she tells about how her dad never said goodbye to her. I feel like a monster. Then the buzzer goes off, and it's my turn.

I take a deep breath and stand up. Walking forward, people stare at me. They're wandering what this Tribute will be like. The one who tried to escape. I stand next to Caesar and he smiles at me.

"Well! Here we have Thrazz Altar, the Tribute from District 12, the boy who tried to escape!" It's said in light spirits, almost like a joke, but I don't smile. I need to get across my dark attitude. Caesar knows my type, and he understands he's not going to get much out of me. He doesn't try, instead he plays along. When he asks what my strategy is for the Games I reply in a witty tone, "Win."

With thirty seconds left in my interview, he asks me, "Is there any thing you'd like to say to your fellow Tributes?"

I grab the microphone out of Caesars hand and say, "Stay the hell out of my way."

**This my seem like a boring chapter to write, but I actually found it very enjoying. R&R. P.S. For those of you who have played Batman: Arkham City, I imagine Killian as having a voice just like Harley Quinn's. If that helps the emphasis on how annoying her voice is.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I wake up the next morning, and recap last night's events.

After my comment last night, I sat back down and Caesar wrapped up the interview. Gram had come up and said, "Good job, champ." Then he slapped my back, and we went back inside.

I get up and go to breakfast. I get butterflies in my stomach as I realize the Hunger Games are starting today. When I get to the dining room, everyone is there and finishing their breakfast.

"Thrazz!" Gram shouts. "You're late! You have five minutes to eat before we have to go." I sit down and force down some food, even though I have no appetite. I know I will probably come close to starving, so I might as well get a head start.

After we finish eating, we get in the elevator, and ride it down to ground level. As we step out into City Center. A crowd greets us. They are cheering and cameras capture me and Jennifer's movement as we get into the hover craft that will transport us to the arena where we will have the Hunger Games this year.

It changes every year, the arena. It could be in the woods, the forest, the desert, or even in a frozen wasteland. The Tributes never know the climate until they get there. Last year the Hunger Games took place in what used to be known as the "Mojave Desert."

The hover craft flies off toward the arena. Gram comes up and talks to me. "Listen," He starts, "you need to go with your gut. Do what you think is appropriate." With a nod, he sits, and is silent. I sat there for what seemed like hours while the hover craft continued it's journey.

I stared out the port-hole at the sea of trees below us. As I watched, we passed by the green spots, and came to a point where snow covered the few barren pine trees, and you could see the stone ground through the tree line. Gram noticed it too. "Expect cold nights." He tells me. A scientist walks into the small sitting room we were in. Almost without a word, she reaches for my arm, and, granting it, she injects a needle into my arm. She tells me what it was for. She had injected a chip into my arm, so that they could track me during the Games.

She also told us to get ready, because we are nearing the arena. As she leaves the windows black out, and shortly after, and Avox walks in and motions for us to come. We follow him, and he leads me to a ladder. I grab onto it and it takes me down into some catacombs under the arena. I know that in the other half of the hover ship, Jennifer is doing the same thing.

I'm led to a circular room and Killian is there waiting for me. Great. "Oh Thrazz. You're finally HERE! Now we can get started. Come here, so we can get you ready for the Games." I reluctantly walk forward, and she helps me get dressed. She gives me some gray fur pants, a long-sleeved thermal tunic, a wide brown belt, and some fur gloves. "Oh boy, I can tell it's gonna be COLD out there!" Killian says in a lighthearted voice.

We wait for some time, she trying to make small talk, and me trying to ignore her as hard as possible. I was so jittery. I hoped to goodness that Jennifer and I would be at least somewhere close to each other in the circle of Tributes surrounding the Cornucopia.

Finally Killian stood and motioned for me to step onto the circular tube that will transport me to the Cornucopia, or as so many people call it, the Bloodbath.

Before I left she leaned in and said the first thing that sounded like she actually CARED. "Good luck, and I hope it's you who wins."

Then the tube started to go up. The silver chute was about as fast as fast as the Training Tower elevator. I remember the rules as I go up.

Do NOT step off the pedestal before the sixty seconds are done, and the horn blows. If you step off the platform, you will be blown to bits by land mines set in the ground. Once a girl dropped her token, and it set the mines off. They scraped pieces of her off the platform.

As my platform finally rises above ground level, I get a full view of the battlefield. We are on a large flat plateau, covered in snow. The other Tributes rose up out of the ground at exactly the same time as me. I know that as soon as the platforms finished moving, the sixty second countdown would start.

With relief, I notice that Jennifer was in the pedestal next to me. I nod to her. Then the platforms jolt to a stop. I start counting down. _60, 59, 58, _I watch the other Tributes and notice the girl from District 6 eyeing a bow with arrows in the Cornucopia. I also look for things to grab when I run. _49, 48, 47, _I notice a green backpack. I also notice a Ka-Bar knife in the dirt near it.

_42, 41, 40, _I look at the hulking boy from District 5. He could be a problem. He was easily six-foot five-inches, and had muscles like a pro body builder. Then I see him nod to the boy from 2. The boy from 2 nods back. _36, 35, 34, _I decide I would take a direction leading me to the backpack, then the knife. Then I realized that the knife was blending into the ground, but since my eyes were so trained, I had noticed it. It seemed that nobody else had.

_33, 32, 31. _The knife and backpack are on my left. Jennifer is on my right. This was going to be hard._ 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20. _I look at Jennifer and mouth, _follow me, and I'll keep you safe. Trust me. _She looks down, sighs, then nods._ 14, 13, 12, 11, 10. _I get into a running stance, positioned toward Jennifer._ 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. _A second after I finish counting, the horn goes off. It seems like I was the only one counting, because I was the only one who shot off my stand within the first three seconds.

I run to Jennifer and grab her hand. Then I run toward the backpack, with Jennifer trying to keep up. I see a boy going for the backpack. _Hell no. _As I reach him, I swing out with my right hand, and connect to his nose. Blood sprays all over as he falls back and I sweep the backpack into my arms. I swing it onto my back, and as I do so, pick up the Ka-Bar.

Jennifer and I run toward the edge of the plateau, but a girl jumps in our way. She's holding a throwing knife. She throws it at me, but it's obvious she has little to no experience, as she threw it WAY too hard. It flies toward me, and I sweep with the knife. It connects and knocks the throwing knife to the floor. Luck, pure luck. I quickly shove the Ka-Bar into Jennifer's hand, then pick the knife out of the ground, and with the same movement, flicked my wrist in an under hand throw, and it hits the girl in the right eye.

She crumples to the floor, and Jennifer screams. I see District 6, (that's what I decided to name the girl from 6) sniping off people with the bow. She sees me and Jennifer running and quickly makes to follow. As we run past the body of the girl, I yank the knife out. Luckily for Jennifer's sake, no bits of body stuck to the blade.

As we reach the edge of the plateau, I hope to God that it slopes down. Without stopping, we jump and hit the steep slope of the edge. I hold my gloved hand out behind me, slowing our slide. About thirty feet ahead, a flat piece of rock marks the beginning of a narrow ravine. We slide into the rock, and stand up. I quickly grab her hand again, and we continue running.

Then an arrow shatters against the rock next to my head. I duck down and look up. I see District 6 at the top of the ravine shooting at us. I urge Jennifer back up and we sprint to the next piece of cover. I see District 6 pull the drawstring back, and then I tackle Jennifer, right as another arrow rebounds off the wall where Jennifer had just been. I consider throwing my knife, but then I realize it would take a throw I could never manage.

We manage to sprint to a rock outcropping blocking District 6 from view. Jennifer lets go of my hand and sits down, breathing heavily. "Don't sit down, it'll only make it worse." I tell her as I pull her back to her feet.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy! We almost died twice, and you killed a girl, and practically sentenced that boy you hit to death! And then you expect me to trust you?" She starts to leave, when a dead body, dropped from the plateau, hits the ground right in front of her. I grab her and pull her back, covering her mouth with my hand, and muffling the scream that almost gave us away.

She fell to the floor, whimpering. I examined the body. It was a boy, from District 11 I think. Then I recognized the face, and saw it was the boy I punched. Blood and white liquid oozed out of a gash in the boy's neck. He had been slashed by a sword it looks like.

"Come on, we need to find shelter." It was already getting dark up on the mountain side. It couldn't be that late, but it was still dark. I motion for Jennifer to follow me. She hesitantly looks back toward the Cornucopia, the top of which just visible from here, then she gives in and follows me. As we look for somewhere to spend the night, I go over priorities in my head.

Water will not be hard to find. If we can't find a actual creek or lake, than we can always just melt snow, there's defiantly no shortage of it here. Food will probably be the hardest thing to find, considering most of the animals will be hibernating, and the snow will have killed off most of the berries. Fish are a possibility, though.

We're still searching for a place to stay when we stumble across a group of Tributes who have obviously teamed up. Most likely the Careers. I push Jennifer down, and we crouch in some scraggly bushes. We can hear them arguing.

"No, they went THAT way!"

"BULL! I saw them going the other way!"

"It's a roundabout trail, retard!"

"Oh, and I suppose you would know?"

"Shut up you guys! They're going to hear us!"

After the group passed, we book it. Then I see it. The perfect spot. A big boulder stuck in the corner of two rock walls. They're is a crag in-between the wall and the border, and just inside I see a bush. I motion to Jennifer. "Come on."

I crawl through, and check the bush. It's just right. I'm about to leave, when suddenly, I fall through the ground! Jennifer, hearing my shout, runs in, and falls in right on top of me with a scream. I pull myself out from under her, and she sits there miserably, looking at a small cut on her elbow. She looks up with tears in her eye. "I'm bleeding." She seems shocked at the prospect.

"Get used to it." I reply. Then I turn to look at the small tunnel that we had fallen into. No, not a tunnel, a cave. Perfect. I turn to Jennifer, and then say, "Were staying here. This will be our base camp for the time being." Then I open the backpack. I feel inside to see what's in it. Feeling something big, I pull it out. Then I feel around, and touch, a knob? I turn it and a light bursts forth. A lantern! I examine it, and find that it's solar powered.

I dump out the rest of the backpacks contents, and look at them in the light. A canteen, a box of water purifier, a blanket, a sleeping bag, a bag of jerky, and a small outdoors pocket knife. Those, plus the Ka-Bar, and the perfectly balance throwing knife. I realize I'm exhausted, but then I see Jennifer slumped against the wall, already half asleep. I touch her shoulder and she jerks awake.

"What?" She says. I hand her the sleeping bag.

"Here, sleep in this and stay warm." She nods her gratitude then slips into it, and falls asleep instantly. Then I hear the anthem play through the whole arena. Time to see who died, and use that to figure out who's still alive.

I look up at the night sky, and after the Capitol anthem is done, a list of all the Tributes who died will appear with some sort of projector. As it goes through the list, and I count off the number of dead, it adds up to eight killed. That leaves sixteen, including us, people left. Unfortunately, I didn't see District 6's face up there. Although the male Tribute from District 6 was killed. Turn's out he was the one I punched.

After that I duck back into the cave, and wrap up in the blanket. Then I fall asleep.

**For those of you used to my posting the next chapter within a day of the previous, I'm sorry it took so long for me to upload this one. **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I woke to the sound of scratching. It was coming from outside the cave. Instantly, I was wide awake, and totally concentrated on the sound. It was constant. And getting closer.

I pulled the Ka-Bar out, and went to investigate. I put my hand over Jennifer's mouth and jostled her awake. She blinked a few times, and I handed her the pocket knife, then put my finger over my mouth in a shushing matter. I slowly stalked towards the cave entrance, and as I got there, someone fell through the entrance, a shocked yip breaking through the silent night.

Quickly I slapped my hand over the person's mouth, realizing it's a girl, and she's the girl from District 7. Then I hear a voice. "Sandra? Sandra are you okay?"

The girl tried to scream, but it came out as a muffle. "Sandra? Was that you?" I knock the girl out, and wait. Someone drops down the hole, and I grab him, too. It's both the Tributes from District 7. I'm about to mercilessly kill them when Jennifer touches my shoulder and stops me.

She makes the same shush motion I made to her, and peels my hand off of the boy. "What are you doing?" I whisper to her.

"We can use allies." She looks at the boy, he's maybe 13, and says, "Are you interested in a alliance?" He looks at me fearfully, then looks at Jennifer, and finally rests his gaze on the girl.

"If I say yes, promise not to hurt her." He nods to the girl. I snort.

"What are you doing, Jennifer? We can't watch these little kids!" The boy grabs my arm with a wild look in his eyes. I get ready to slit his throat if it comes to it.

"Please! She's my sister!" Now I know I can't hurt her without feeling serious guilt. Plus Jennifer's looking at me with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Alright, fine! You can stay with us! But if there's any funny business, you're going down." He sighs in relief and then runs over to the girl, caressing her head. Jennifer stands and hands them her blanket. Then she gives them some food. She looks at me and smiles. It makes me happy to see her smile. Then I'm saddened at the prospect of what's going to happen when it's just me and her.

I stand and walk over to her. "I'm going out. We need food, and if I come across any sleeping Tributes, all the better." She looks at me with a sad look, not liking the fact that I'm about to kill innocent people without any thought. She nods, then she hugs me. "Be safe." She says. Then something I never thought would happen. She kisses me. It only lasts a second, but I cherish it like it lasted an hour.

I leave, handing her the Ka-Bar, and taking the pocket and throwing knives. I climb up out of the hole, only my head, and sit there for a while, letting my eyes adjust to the dark. It's a pretty dark night, and I know that'll work to my advantage. I pull myself out of the cave, and cover up the opening. Then I spread some mud on my face, not only to keep in the warmth, but also to use as camouflage.

I make my way out, and decide to head to the Cornucopia to see if there's anything left. I make my way along, slowly, and come to the ravine where District 6 shot at us. Then I hear voices. I freeze, and quietly move to some bushes, and lay there, un-moving. Then I see them. The Careers. I get a good glimpse at them. About five, no, exactly five. There's the two boys who I saw nodding to each other, the girl from 1, a boy from 3, and then the girl from 4. I'm surprised, but not too much, that District 6 isn't with them.

They're arguing. Again. This time about what to do with a dead fox they are dragging. If it's okay to cook it, and if so, how? I realize that none of them took the survival training. They stop and start getting into a really heated discussion. After about five minutes, 2 throw's his hand's into the air in frustration, and stomps off. The rest of the Careers follow him, leaving 4 and the dead fox. She finally decides it's not worth it, and leaves it behind, following the rest of her group.

I know that fox are okay to eat, because I did take the survival course. I look left to right, then dart out, and drag the fox into the bush I was hiding in. I mark it with a Ω in the snow, my favorite sign, and then continue on. I climb up the ravine, and then find the hill Jennifer and I slid down. I scramble up it, trying hard not to kick too much snow down.

When I see the plateau, I'm happy. There is still a few items dotting the moon-bathed landscape. I study the area for a while, making sure there is nobody there, because if there is, they'll definitely see me. Ten minutes later, I'm satisfied that nobody else is there. I make my way out, slowly at first, then gaining confidence as nobody steps out to confront me.

I make my way around the Cornucopia, picking up odd bits and pieces of useful scraps. I realize all the bodies are gone. Cleared out by the hover craft so they can be transported back to their homes, and given to their families. I head to the large golden Cornucopia itself, doubting that anything is left, but still hopeful. I search around, and am about to give up hope when I notice the piece of wood, barely showing itself in the shadows of the Cornucopia. I grab it and realize it's not a piece of wood, but actually a handle. I lift it up and admire the gleaming hatchet that I pulled out of the snow.

Now I know I'm lucky. This will make hunting and fighting much easier, when it comes to not stabbing their back. I hear scuffling, then turn around… and fall on my back, having been tackled by the person now trying to straddle me. It's a guy, and I'm about to swing the hatchet up into his head when he grabs my neck, and then slams my head into the snow. I hit my head on the rock under the thin layer of snow, and I drop the hatchet. In a daze, I swing my arm out and feel it connect to something. The weight on my stomach lays off, and I roll over. A knife embeds itself into the rock where my head had been a second ago.

Coming back to my senses, I sweep my legs underneath my attacker, who was still trying to get the knife out of the rock, and he falls to the ground with a groan. We both stand up and take a fighting stance. I'm bouncing on the balls of my feet, but he's standing there, legs spread too far, knees locked. It's obvious he's never been in a fight, or if he has, he probably lost. I don't let myself get too cocky, though, just because he looks stiff, he could be a very good fighter.

We circle, me shuffling, and him awkwardly crossing his legs as we move. I stare at him, and he uncomfortably meets my gaze. Then he breaks down, looking right where he swings. I easily dodge his sloppy left hook, and jab his jaw with my right fist. He tries to get me with a right jab, but I counter it, blocking with my right, and hitting his side with a strong left hook. He falls back, holding his side, and I know now, the battle is over. I step forward, he steps back. I swing out, and he jumps back. I jump forward, now toying with him, and he turns his back and starts to run. He's now made two major mistakes. Stepping back, and turning around.

I catch up to him, and plant a firm kick into his back. He falls forward, and turns around, horror in his eyes. I realize with sick fury that I'm enjoying this. I step forward, and he kicks my shin. It was so unexpected, that I stepped back. I rolls back, and stands up, then charges me, his head ramming my stomach and knocking the wind out of me. I twist around him, and he turns, swinging wildly. I fake right, then juke left, catching him in the gut with my fist.

He falls to his knees, eyes streaming, and then stands, another knife in his hand. He jabs at me, and I turn around, catching his arm under my right armpit. I grab his wrist with both hands, and twist, causing him to flip, so we're back-to-back, and also causing him to drop the knife. Grabbing his wrist with my left and, and his biceps with my right, and I start to pull on his fore-arm, while pushing down with my right. The action causes him to scream in pain as his arm bends the wrong way. I continue the action, until I hear a loud snap. He screams loudly, and I yank him around, grabbing his throat, and pushing him towards the edge of the plateau. We reach the edge, and then I twist him around, and kick his back.

As his screams are cut off, I hear a cannon go off. The cannon shot signals the death of a Tribute. I go back to the starting place, wiping my bloodied nose, and pick up the hatchet, as well as the two knives the kid had. I had totally forgotten about the knife I had tucked safely away in my tunic. I put the other knives in their as well, and hold the hatchet in my right hand.

I look up and what I see shocks me. District 6 standing in the dark at the edge of the plateau, smiling. Before my breath comes back to me, she turns and leaves. I chase after her, determined to kill her. She's already down the hill, and running along the ravine. I sprint down the hill, but instead of going towards the entrance of the ravine, I head to the edge. As I get there I'm relieved to see I've timed it perfectly.

I jump off the edge, and hang in the air for a minute as I sail down the hundred foot ravine. Then I land on District 6 as she runs. She's on the floor, having broken my fall, and unconscious. Then I realize something. It's not District 6. It's somebody else. I look up. I was sure it was District 6 who I saw, that smile, the golden hair, then I notice something else.

District 6, running towards the cave. Jennifer! I look down at the unconscious girl, and decide to spare her, it'll take too long to kill her, and give chase to the girl who is determined to kill either me, Jennifer. I chase her, she's always about ten yards ahead of me, and she leads me along. I realize she's enjoying this. She's PLAYING with me.

When I turn the next corner, she's gone. I stand there. I don't know where I am. Then I hear a cannon. My eyes widen as I realize what happened. The bitch led me away, so she could go back and kill Jennifer while she was unprotected. I sprint back to where I think the cave is, tears streaming down my face.

Shortly after, another cannon goes off. That'll be either the boy or girl from 7. I expect to hear another cannon shot as I keep running. My breath goes, but I don't care. I keep running, even though I can't breathe. I have to kill District 6, and avenge Jennifer. I'm still running when everything goes wrong.

I'm knocked down by an arm about as big as I am wide around. The hulking boy from 5. The Careers. I know I'm going to die now. I'll never avenge Jennifer. I get pinned by someone else. I don't even try to move. Maybe if I get my strength back, I can fight back, and still get away.

The girl from 4 stands over me, and smiles. "Hand me a knife, will ya?" She says to someone. The girl from 1 hands her a particularly large knife. 4 bends over, her face inches from mine. A large smirk stretches across her face.

"Well. Isn't this a lovely surprise. Here we were, wondering what to do, when we hear your sobbing and gasping." The boy from 2 looks confused. I realize they had no idea I was coming, it was just the boy from 5's reflexes that stopped me and got their prize.

4 continues. "Now what should we do to you? Cut your tongue off? Gouge your eyes out? Maybe remove your fingers and toes, one by one?" I spit in her eyes. She falls back, her mouth open in shock as she wipes her eyes. She pulls her hand away, and comes at me, her eyes still red. I dodge the knife stroke, pulling on the person holding me down. The knife embeds into 5's arm, and he barely flinches, letting go of me to pull the knife out.

I jump up, and punch District 1 in the face. She grabs her nose, squirting blood, and falls back. Then I kick 2 in the neck, and he goes down. When 5 stands up, I get worried. But he doesn't care about me. He goes toward 4 and she's horrified. Everybody stops in their tracks as 5 picks 4 up by her neck, and stabs her ear. I run into the night, the screams of 4 following me. I squirrel up a tree and watch the clearing they had been staying in.

1, 2, and 3 try to pull 5 off the dead body of 4, but he doesn't budge, and he continues to stab her, in a rage because she stabbed his arm. The cannon fires, and Districts 1 and 2 run off. 3 stays for a few seconds, then follows. I realize I have the perfect chance to kill the Hulk. That's what I decide to name him, even though it won't matter, because in a few seconds he'll be dead. I drop down silently, and sneak up behind him with the hatchet. As I'm about to swing down into his head, he turns and stares into my eyes. His are red.

My heart skips three beats, and I instantly turn tail and run. I realize I've forgotten about Jennifer. All my fear evaporates as anger towards District 6 bubbles back to the surface. I realize where I am, and from there run towards the cave. As I see the rock, I pull the hatchet back out from a loop in my tunic. I quietly make my way towards the cave hole, and when I get there, drop in.

I see a flash of brown hair and… Wait, brown hair? District 6 doesn't have brown hair, Jennifer does! I stop my swing, just in the nick of time, and drop the hatchet in horror. I almost killed Jennifer. She looks at me in shock, then hugs me, crying violently. "Woah, woah!" I comfort her.

"What happened?" I ask her.

She continues to sob and points to the dead bodies of the sibling from 7. "The boy, Jeff, attacked me! I swung up with the knife and hit him in the chest. Then when Sandra saw, she grabbed a rock, and came at me also. I didn't want to kill them, I swear! I'm sorry, so, so sorry!" I squeeze her in a bear hug, happy she's not hurt, and then say.

"You did good, Jennifer. Just fine."

**I am really sorry for how long it took to upload this. I'm really starting to lose interest in the Hunger Games, and the fact that I'm not getting many reviews is not very encouraging. I hate to say it, but I might stop writing this. If I get just 1 more review from someone who hasn't reviewed already, I'll try to continue the story.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning was brisk and cool. I hadn't slept, although Jennifer had fallen asleep in my arms, after disposing of the kids from District 7. There was a slight breeze, that had a slight tinge of smoke, and the smell of fire tickled my nostrils.

I decided this was a good time to do some more hunting. If anybody had been able to get a fire going, it was somebody with equipment. I woke Jennifer up.

"Wha-?"

"Come on. If we're gonna survive this, we need to go hunting. We'll need food, and if anybody tries to get us, we'll kill 'em." I pulled her to her feet, and handed her the Ka-Bar and one of the knives I got from the kid last night. I kept the hatchet and throwing knife, and leave the other two knives by the backpack.

I lift myself out of the cave, and pull Jennifer up by her arm. I hold the hatchet at the ready, and she keeps the Ka-Bar held slightly back, with her left hand a little bit forward, ready to stab. I lick my finger and hold it up into the air, trying to feel which way the wind is blowing. I feel the cold nip on the right side of my finger, so I know the wind is blowing to my left. The smoke is being carried by the wind, so I know I need to turn into it to find the fire.

I sneak along, hardly making a sound, then jump when I hear a snap. I quickly turn, and see Jennifer lifting her feet off of a broken branch.

"Sorry." She whispers.

"Don't let it happen again." I reply.

We keep going, me making virtually no noise, and Jennifer only snapping a branch every now and again. The area is beautiful. It's too bad it's now in an area that's meant for 23 people to die in. Trees dot the rocky terrain. Snow covers the ground. Bloodstains ruin the beautiful area. It's obvious somebody died here. Then I realize; this is where Hulk killed the girl from District 4.

I hear another snap. I turn around, ready to chew Jennifer out. Hulk stands there. Jennifer is in a choke hold, and Hulk is holding a knife to her throat.

"Don't move, or she's dead." He says to me. His voice is deep, and gravely. It reminds me of death, and it reminds me of what he's capable of. I hear a laugh off to the side. I look, and discover it's District 2. He must have forgiven Hulk for killing that girl. Maybe she was disliked.

As District 2 moves closer, a sword at the ready, Hulk picks up a throwing spear, and as District 2 is saying, "Nice job, Jerred, now there-" Hulk throws the spear, hitting District 2 in the gut, and he falls over, lifeless. A cannon goes off.

Even I'm shocked at Hulk's ruthlessness. He can kill without a moment's notice, and seemingly unprovoked. I hold my hands out, and set the hatchet on the ground.

"Just don't hurt her." I say. He laughs.

"I'm not gunna hurt 'er. I need help. And you two are the only ones who seem like they need an ally. I need an ally that I can trust. And you need one who can help you. That's me."

I think about how he seemed to kill District 2 without any thought. Maybe, he might be useful, but if I did anything to provoke him, he could, and would, kill me and Jennifer.

"How do I know you won't just kill us like you killed him." I motion to District 2. "Or the girl from District 4." I ask.

He replies. "He was untrustworthy. I found a page of paper, it had a plan written on it, to kill me. And the girl stabbed me." I wasn't about to tell him it was my fault. He obviously isn't that smart.

"Alright. If you promise not to hurt us, we can make an alliance." I say.

"Good." Hulk smiles. Then he lets Jennifer go. She staggers to my side. "Now, if you'll follow me, I can take you to where I'm stayin'." I look at Jennifer as Hulk lumbers off. She shrugs, and walks behind me as I follow Hulk.

"Hey, I don't even know your name yet. What is it?" I ask Hulk.

"It's Jerred." He replies.

"I'm Thrazz." I say. Jennifer pipes in. "And I'm Jennifer." Hulk nods an affirmative. We continue to follow Jerred, all hopes of staying stealthy lost as he lumbers through bushes, jumps off of boulders, and generally makes a lot of noise.

I hear a scraping sound off to the side. Jumping forward, I grab Jerred's arm, and pull him down. He looks at me, a flare of rage flashing through, then crouches next to me. Jennifer ducks down next to me. "I heard something." I say. "Stay here."

Holding up the hatchet, and loosening the throwing knife in my belt, I make my way towards a bend in a rock face. Then I hear a muffled, TWANG! I drop to the ground as District 6's arrow shatters above my head. Then District 1 jumps out from the bend in the cliff, sword waving. I hear Jerred roar, and turn to see him fighting District 3. It's an ambush! I suspect Jerred, until I see him knock the boy to the floor, and then something terrible. Stepping on the boy's ribcage, Jerred takes hold of the boy's right arm, and pulls. Even from several yards away I hear the snap, then tearing of flesh, as Jerred rips the boy's arm off, in a terrible fit of rage.

I look away in disgust, just in time to take on District 1. She swings the sword at my head, and I duck, swiping at her legs. She jumps back, and evades the hatchet. Then I see District 6. She's on top of the rock face, and taking aim at me. I only have a few moments before she releases, and I take that time to charge District 1, take a swing, and taking advantage of her dodge, I kick her in the chest, winding her, and giving me my chance. I jump forward, and smack her wrist, causing her to drop her sword. I take her in a chokehold, and face her towards District 6, my throwing knife at her neck.

"Just try it!" I shout. She's too far away, but I think I see a smile on District 6's face as she releases her drawn arrow. With only a moment's notice, I slit District 1's throat, and push her forward, dropping behind a rock. A wet thwack tells me that District 1 has been hit. I peek out, and confirm it. If I hadn't jumped out of the way, the arrow would have gone through District 1's belly, just far enough to stab into my stomach.

I look for District 6, but she's left. I run back to Jerred and Jennifer. Jennifer is cowering, and Jerred is standing over District 3's blood-soaked body, caked in blood, and smacking the already dead boy with his own severed arm. I grab Jennifer's wrist and we run for it. I can't trust Jerred like that. He's just too bloodthirsty.

We run back to our hideout, retracing Jerred's prints. I make a mental note telling myself to start calling him "Hulk" again. Using names makes it harder to kill someone when it comes time. We run and run, and when Jennifer starts gasping, I slow us down to a jog, then a brisk walk, and then finally to a complete halt. It's always good to stay in shape, and it's not good for you to come to a total stop from a dead sprint.

I recognize the area we're in. Very close to where our fort is. I urge Jennifer onwards, telling her we're almost there. She sighs in relief. When we get to the boulder, we go inside and sit there, panting. I'm extremely thirsty. I've made a huge mistake in not going out for water and food sooner. I've let the other Tributes get the better of me.

"We need water." I say to Jennifer. "Stay here, I'm going to get us some. You won't be needing the lantern, so put it by the hole so it can recharge. I'll be back soon." She nods, tired from all the running.

I peek my head out. Nobody in sight. I duck back down, grab the canteen, and the hatchet, and pull myself out of the cave, and into the small crag. I wait there, nestled in the shadows the boulder grants us, and watch. When I'm satisfied that nobody is there, I creep out, and then go into stealth mode.

Trusting on years of experience, I know I am virtually invisible to the untrained eye. I move, dashing from cover to cover. It can only be about 4 o'clock, but it's already getting dark. Due to the mountains I guess. I look for a spring, or a pond. Anywhere we can get water. I search for water, but can't find it. I search for another ten minutes before I give up. I decide to cheat instead. I pick up snow off the ground, and put it into the canteen.

Next we need food. I know I should have scavenged food off of the other Tributes I've killed, but I neglected that as well. I look for a nice, big, flat rock, and set it up in a trip-fall trap. I bait the trap with some berries, and then make more like it, in various areas.

The sky turns dark blue as it gets darker out. It's now about 5 o'clock. I decide to go back, so Jennifer doesn't worry. On the way back I notice a strange animal. As I see what it's eating I duck down. No, it's not some poor Tribute, but it might as well have been, because it's a large casket of food.

The animals fur doesn't look like anything I know, then I realize it's a muttation. A mixed breed of an arctic fox, and an arctic wolf. I get the hatchet ready. I can kill it, and scavenge some food from the casket. I get ready to attack it. Before I rush out, I decide that incase this fight will be too much for me, I need an escape rout, so I study the surroundings.

Behind me, thick underbrush grows thick. Ahead of me, and after the mutt, is a cliff. To my right lies a rock wall that is too high for me to climb. To my right there's only a single tree, then a downward slope. I decide that should be a good escape route.

I jump out from behind the pine tree I had been hiding behind, and charge the mutt. I don't shout, knowing that it'll be a lot better to catch it by surprise than anything else. By now it's incredibly dark, and I can barely see my hand in front of my face. Luckily the mutt's coat is so white, it is easy to see it.

The mutt looks up as it hears my feet hit the ground. I'm about two yards away when it notices me, and with an incredible leap, jumps at me. I throw myself into a slide and take a swing at it's stomach as it flies over me. I feel my hatchet connect, and the mutt falls to the floor, dead.

That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I stand up and turn to the casket of food, only to turn right into someones sword. Although my adrenaline is pumping, the blade cutting through my chest still hurts. A lot. I fall back, and grab at my chest. Strangely my hand comes away dry. Maybe I didn't get hit. But I felt it…

My assailant confidently strides towards me. My hatchet is too far away to reach, but I still have a knife. I pull it out of my belt, and try to stand. The unknown Tribute runs at me, and kicks me in the head. My knife flies out of my hand. He stands over me, his head tilted. Then he laughs…

And a blade sprouts from his chest! His blood splashes my face as his wicked laugh is cut off with a strangled sound. His body falls to the floor with a thud, and then a cannon goes off. The dark silhouette of a girl takes the place of the would be assassin. I know this is the end. I can't defend myself. Then shock from the cut in my chest knocks me out. With my last conscious breath, I see the girl lean forward, a knife at the ready


End file.
